Dallas Mavericks forward Naji Marshall has been suspended four games without pay and Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic has been suspended three games without pay for their involvement in an on-court altercation, as announced by Joe Dumars, Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations.
In addition, Mavericks forward P.J. Washington has been suspended one game without pay for escalating the on-court altercation.
The incident, which occurred with 9:02 remaining in the third quarter of the Mavericks’ 98-89 win over the Suns at Footprint Center on December 27, began after Nurkic committed an offensive foul.
Marshall and Nurkic then engaged in an on-court altercation. Nurkic escalated it by swinging his arm and striking Marshall on top of his head. Marshall responded by throwing a punch that connected with Nurkic’s face.
As the officials and other players attempted to diffuse the situation, Washington further escalated the altercation by shoving Nurkic to the floor.
For their roles, Marshall, Nurkic and Washington were assessed technical fouls and ejected from the game.Following the on-court incident, Marshall attempted to further engage Nurkic in a hostile manner in the corridor outside the locker rooms.
